


Good Thing We Have Each Other

by endlessnepenthe



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, New Year's Fluff, New Year's fireworks, Sleepy Cuddles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, silly Sam and Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:53:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22161373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlessnepenthe/pseuds/endlessnepenthe
Summary: “No, Dean, it’s alright.” Castiel cradles Dean’s face between his hands, gently coaxing him to turn. When Dean does, Castiel smiles warm as summer sunlight, and leans in to press a kiss to Dean’s forehead. “I’m here if you need me.”Dean sniffs with a timid upward tilt to one corner of his lips. It’s not a smile, but Castiel will take it. “I’ll always need you, Cas.”“I’m not planning on going anywhere.”With a strangled half laugh, Dean drops his head to Castiel’s shoulder. “What’d I do to deserve you?”
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 3
Kudos: 79





	Good Thing We Have Each Other

_ 3… _

_ 2… _

_ 1… _

_ BOOM _

“Happy New Year,” Castiel says, voice raised to be heard over the sound of fireworks bursting in the sky.

Dean absently echoes the phrase right back, leaning forward with his elbows resting on the cold metal railing of the balcony.

Castiel can see the fireworks painting the night sky countless vivid colours out of the corner of his eye, but he prefers to watch Dean. To see the lights bathing Dean’s profile in different glowing shades, to see them reflected like exploding stars in the clear endless green of Dean’s eyes. With each new splash of colour and brightness, the little freckles scattered over the bridge of Dean’s nose is briefly highlighted starkly on his skin, and Castiel simply couldn’t look away.

It’s precisely because he’s staring at Dean like he’s trying to burn Dean’s features into his eyes and mind; Castiel notices the exact instant Dean’s faint wondering smile goes soft and sorrowful. The sadness carries a distinct edge of wistfulness — in the way of someone reflecting on old memories of earlier happy times — and it makes Castiel’s heart  _ ache. _

“What’s wrong, beloved?”

The faraway glaze in Dean’s eyes dissipates. “Nothing, I was—” He rocks his weight back on his heels, straightening out his arms. Castiel glances at Dean’s hands — strong fingers wrapped around the top of the railing, knuckles bone white — before looking up to see a muscle in Dean’s jaw jump. “Nothing. Just thinkin’.”

When Dean finally pulls his gaze from the sky, Castiel doesn’t try to wipe the worry from his face. Dean’s silent for a moment, taking in Castiel’s expression; then his own face twists with angry self loathing and he looks away.

“God, I’m such a—” Dean blinks furiously, damp eyelashes clumping together. “‘m sorry—”

“No, Dean, it’s alright.” Castiel cradles Dean’s face between his hands, gently coaxing him to turn. When Dean does, Castiel smiles warm as summer sunlight, and leans in to press a kiss to Dean’s forehead. “I’m here if you need me.”

Dean sniffs with a timid upward tilt to one corner of his lips. It’s not a smile, but Castiel will take it. “I’ll always need you, Cas.”

“I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

With a strangled half laugh, Dean drops his head to Castiel’s shoulder. “What’d I do to deserve you?”

Castiel hums a noncommittal note. “What’d I do to deserve  _ you?” _

“That’s—”

“Dean. It is not your decision to make.” Castiel pauses. When he speaks again, his tone is softer. “Just as it isn’t my place to decide whether or not you deserve me; and in the end, it’s not about deserving or undeserving. Love is a choice, and I will choose you for all the time I am allowed.”

“...You’re such a dork,” Dean mumbled, voice thick.

Castiel smiles. “There you are.”

“A nerdy, sappy dork.”

“And you’re an idiot.”

“...Yeah.” Dean lifts his head. “I dunno what you see in the mess I am but I’ll never stop loving you,” he whispers fiercely.

“I don’t doubt it for a second,” Castiel returns, just as firm and certain. “If you must insist, then you’re  _ my _ mess.”

Dean flushes, sweet and beautiful.

Together, they watch and listen to the fireworks, until Castiel hears the noise of an object vibrating on a wooden table top from inside.

“Phone; I think it’s yours.”

“Is it?”

“You should probably—”

The vibrating stops before Castiel could finish his sentence. Dean shrugs, shoulder bumping against Castiel’s. It starts again.

Sighing, Dean slides the balcony door open and steps back inside. Castiel follows close behind, shutting the door as Dean’s irritation fades after seeing the caller ID on his cellphone screen.

“Hey.”

Although he can’t hear the other side of the conversation, Castiel knows who it is from Dean’s tone.

“What? Nah, not out.”

Castiel idly wonders what they’re talking about.

“Of course it’s fine.”

Dean nibbles at his bottom lip, considers something.

“Hm. Yeah, okay — if you want to. I’m sure Cas’ll— Mhm, I’m good with it too.”

Dean rolls his eyes fondly.

“Yeah, yeah. Not gettin’ any younger here.”

Dean hangs up. Castiel waits expectantly.

“Apparently, Sammy’s coming over.”

Castiel nods. “Okay. That’s good.”

Just minutes later, the doorbell rings multiple times in rapid enthusiastic succession. Castiel is lounging on the sofa with Dean leaned back against his chest, hands resting on Dean’s belly and chin hooked over his shoulder.

“Want me to get the door,” Castiel murmurs.

“Mm, I’ll get it.”

The instant Dean swings the door open enough, a large cloud barrels into the room, barking once and running straight for Castiel.

“Sam,” Dean greets, grinning.

“Dean!” Sam yanks Dean into a tight hug.

Castiel laughs as he suddenly has a lap full of excited dog, pressing kisses to the top of a fluffy head. “Hello there,” he croons, playfully ruffling long white fur between his fingers. “Aren’t you a pretty puppy?”

“Budge over, ya giants,” a voice hisses, and to the sound of a pair of affronted grunts, becomes increasingly louder approaching Castiel. “Caaaaassieeeee~!”

Struggling to poke his head out around the mass of ecstatically moving fur, Castiel receives a face full of doggy kisses. Protesting weakly, he pushes at the wet nose prodding his cheek.

A weight plops onto the sofa next to him. “How’s my most favourite bro?”

“...I’ve been well.”

“Yeah? Dean bein’ proper good to you?”

Hearing his name, Dean pauses where he’s heading back to the balcony with Sam, turning around with curiosity in his eyes. Castiel smiles a reassurance, and Dean twitches his shoulders in a barely present shrug before returning to his conversation.

“Of course.” Castiel’s eyes follow Dean, standing in the night air and backlit by the last of the fireworks, gesturing subconsciously as he speaks to Sam. “But not to himself.”

As if understanding Castiel’s somber words, the dog lies down, draping its front paws and head over Castiel’s legs. Indulgent and kind even in his melancholy, Castiel strokes soothingly down the dog’s back, as far as he could reach.

“Yeah.” The word is breathed on an understanding sigh, and Castiel tracks Gabriel’s gaze to Sam, who is grinning mischievously as he hunts around in his bag.

_ They’re both the same, aren’t they? _

“They’re idiots,” Castiel mutters with no real bite.

Gabriel turns to give Castiel a confident smirk. “Good thing they have us.”

Castiel blinks, surprised. Then he smiles. “Yes—”

“Cas, sweetheart—” Dean rushes over, tugging at Castiel’s arm. Sam is laughing as he locks the balcony door. “Let’s go outside!”

Castiel nods in easy agreement and Dean’s running off again, bustling to grab his jacket and yank on his boots. His excitement is infectious; the dog jumps off Castiel to run eager circles around Dean, panting happily, and Sam is no more than a few steps behind Dean, glowing just as brightly with delight.

Dean throws Castiel his jacket and Gabriel shrugs his own back on, both moving quickly in anticipation. Sam and Dean fidget impatiently in the hallway with the dog pacing between their legs, until Castiel and Gabriel have their shoes on and the apartment door is locked.

“C’mon!”

Castiel and Gabriel share a fond glance.

_ Good thing we all have each other. _

It turns out Sam had brought small fireworks and sparklers.

Standing by the side of a nearby river, Sam flicks the lighter until there’s a small but strong flame. He holds the little fire to the sparkler in Dean’s hand until it catches and burns, bright sparks flying.

“Here, here, lemme light yours!”

Dean touches the end of his sparkler to Castiel’s, cheering when it flares to life.

\---

“Don’t point them at each other,” Castiel calls across the short distance, eyes slightly squinted against the brightness glowing in the night.

He sighs when Sam and Dean only whoop louder, swinging their arms in wild exaggerated swoops, a spitting sparkler clutched in each hand.

“Giant children,” Gabriel huffs with a wide affectionate grin, lifting his arm to hold his sparkler out of reach each time his dog jumps and attempts to bite the light.

Castiel doesn’t look away. “It’s beautiful,” he murmurs. “Wish I could bottle this, keep it forever—”

The words die in his throat, traded for a soft gasp.

“What?” Castiel could hear the puzzled frown in Gabriel’s voice. “What’d you say?”

He doesn’t get a reply.

\---

_ Gabriel is crouched down on one knee, his dog’s front paws up on his shoulders. He’s making a dramatic kissy face and his dog is licking his chin. _

_ Sam and Dean are in the center of a beautiful mess of golden interconnecting lines of light, the traces of their sparklers being waved aimlessly through the air. _

_ Sam laughing with his head thrown back as Dean adds a wobbly smile under Sam’s upside down and stretched out ‘W’. _

_ Dean, face scrunched in concentration as he lights a firework. Sam is looking on with a fond smile. _

_ A firework going off, Sam and Dean clearly startled behind it. Their eyes are round, mouths parted slightly, faces illuminated from the bottom up. _

_ Gabriel and Sam’s dog, standing with its ears perked up at attention watching Sam and Dean. Its white fur is bright as a beacon in the darkness and the light of the fireworks is reflected in its eyes. _

_ Sam and Dean side by side; Dean laughing with the sparkler in his hand casting a soft glow over his face, Sam grinning wide with his eyes squeezed shut. _

_ Gabriel smiling as he watches Sam. The ends of his hair is the colour of spun gold. _

_ Sparks of light from the sparklers reflected in the calm water of the river. They look like fireflies. _

_ Dean turning with a grin. “Cas, are you filming?” His grin grows wider still, and then he’s drawing a huge heart in the air with his sparkler. _

_ Sam drawing a star. _

_ Dean drawing a penis. _

_ Sam and Dean laughing so hard they’re bent over, wheezing and clutching at each other for support. _

_ Gabriel running and jumping into Sam’s arms, Dean immediately reaching out to snatch Sam’s sparkler from his hand to extinguish the chances of anything catching fire. Dean groans as Gabriel plants a kiss on Sam’s cheek. _

_ D + C scratched into the damp sand of the riverbank, surrounded by a rough heart. _

_ Castiel’s profile; he’s grinning, the corners of his eyes crinkled. Silvery moonlight caresses the side of his face. _

Castiel pauses, thumb hovering just over the image of himself on the screen of his phone.

It’s a gorgeous photo, perfectly focused on subject, worthy of being framed on a wall and called professional art. There’s the unaware vulnerability of a candid, captured with a careful diligence speaking volumes of love and adoration. He certainly wouldn’t have expected this when Dean had taken Castiel’s phone and said he’d wanted to see the photos, blaming curiosity.

As if sensing Castiel’s thoughts about him, Dean snuffles gently in his sleep, one slack arm a solid weight across Castiel’s lap. He had gone bleary-eyed only a few minutes after they’d arrived back home, exhausted from expending all his energy dashing and twirling around with his little brother like they were children again.

It’s not a surprise — Castiel figured Gabriel is likely also dealing with a drained and lethargic Winchester — knowing how late (early?) it is, with the sun due to rise again for the day in a few hours.

Dean is beautiful like this, Castiel thinks. No, Dean is always beautiful, but there’s a blinding innocence about sleeping Dean. He’s sprawled on his stomach, face relaxed and serene where it’s pushed into his pillow, worn black t shirt hugging every line of his torso. Despite his strong broad shoulders and thick biceps straining the limits of his sleeves, Dean is startlingly young asleep. The unique caution and awareness of his surroundings Dean always has during waking hours is gone, replaced by something fragile and trusting and sleep soft.

Castiel hesitantly drags the comforter up Dean’s back. He didn’t want to chance disturbing Dean’s sleep, but his worry for Dean’s comfort overrides everything else.

Inhaling long and slow, Dean shifts restlessly. “Cas,” he sighs.

“Sleep, Dean.”

A moment of silence, stretching so long Castiel nearly believes Dean had gone back to sleep; then Dean huffs a weak protest.

There aren’t any words said, but Castiel understands. Reaching over to set his phone on the nightstand, Castiel lies down, chuckling when Dean instantly nuzzles close and settles an arm over his ribs.

“G’night,” Dean slurs, and is out like a light.

The last thought Castiel has before he surrenders to sleep is how much he’s looking forward to making bacon for Dean as their first breakfast of the year.


End file.
